this morning on "first look" -- >> russia indicated is a geopolitical foe. >> the 1980s are calling in their foreign policy back. >> who won, who lost and did the final debate help undecided voters decide? bill and hillary clinton visit haiti together to assess progress only to reveal a deeply personal connection. we'll explain. and the most affordable cities to live in the united states. is yours one of them?

good morning. i'm lynn berry. after the third debate between president obama and republican nominee mitt romney, there are just 14 days left before american voters choose their next president. according to a cbs news instant polls on uncommitted voters, president obama was a clear 2-1 victor with 53% saying he won. governor romney got 23%. 24% called it a tie. a cnn orc international poll called the debate closer, with 48% saying obama won while 40% picked obama. for more we go to nbc's steve handlesman who's in florida for us. steve, good morning. >> reporter: hi, lynn. thanks. good morning from boca raton, florida. the debate here last night was clearly the most combative so far. though surprising to some, not on the issue of libya. mitt romney was able to make his

larger point, his claim that america is weaker now overseas than it was four years ago. mitt romney and barack obama came to their third and final debate tied in national polls, but their tv audience seemed sure to be smaller. baseball's national league playoffs and monday night football got millions of viewers who missed the faceoff on muslim extremists. >> i congratulate him on taking out osama bin laden and going after the leadership in al qaeda. we can't kill our way out of this. >> governor romney, i'm glad you recognize al qaeda is a threat. because a few months ago when you were asked what is the biggest geopolitical threat, you said russia. what we need to do with respect to the middle east is strong, steady leadership, not wrong and reckless leadership. >> attacking me is not an agenda. i have clear eyes on this. i'm not going to wear rose-colored glasses when it comes to russia or mr. putin. >> reporter: what about iran?

>> now there are 10,000 centrifuges spinning uranium making a threat to the united states and the world. that's unacceptable for us. it's essential for a president to show strength. >> mr. obama said he has. >> we've put in the toughest, most crippling sanctions ever. >> they do work. you're seeing it in the economy. >> the disagreement i have with governor romney is that during the course of this campaign he's often talked as if we should take premature military action. >> of course military action is the last resort. >> reporter: they touched on economic issues. >> i will get america working. >> reporter: president obama recycling an attack. >> both home and abroad he has proposed wrong and reckless policies. >> reporter: their final face to face. the election two weeks ago. again, this race looks tied. both sides agree, nothing, no one single thing is more likely to effect the outcome of this campaign than this debate.

in boca raton, florida, i'm steve handlesman, nbc news. lynn, back to you. steve, thanks. nbc's andrea mitchell has been leading our post debate truth squad. last night with brian williams, she zeroed in on one of mitt romney's most frequent attack lines on the president. >> then the president began what i've called an apology tour going to various nations in the middle east and criticizing america. i think they looked at that and saw weakness. >> bob, let me just respond. nothing governor romney just said is true starting with this notion of me apologizing. this has been probably the biggest whopper that's been told during the course of this campaign. >> reporter: the president pushes back very hard on this. in fact, he never used the word apologize when he went overseas to cairo in 2009 explaining that he thought the u.s. had made a few mistakes in dealing with the world. many consider it a matter of

diplomacy, a matter of nuance. romney points to several examples including when president obama said in 2009 that, quote, america has shown some arrogance and been dismissive, even derisive. romney claims that shows weakness which is harmful to the u.s. place in the world. >> governor romney has charged repeatedly that the president hasn't been as close a friend or ally as he could or should be. let's take a look at this. >> and i think that when the president said he was going to create daylight between ourselves and israel, that they noticed that as well. all of these things suggested, i think, to the iranian mullahs, hey, we can keep pushing along here, we can keep talks going on but we're just going to keep on spinning centrifuges. >> there's never been any proof that the president said that. the only source for this is an article in the "washington post" by scott wilson who said -- wrote that the president said this in a meeting with the leaders of many jewish organizations. >> that was nbc's andrea mitchell. a note for you, this week

brian williams will be going on the road for an exclusive interview with president obama which you will see on "today," "nightly news" and ""rock center"" as well as here on msnbc. here's a look at other stories making news in america. we'll begin with new developments surrounding jesse jackson jr.'s battle with his bipolar disorder. the illinois congressman is said to be in a fragile state while still running for re-election. davis and rush visited him in his washington, d.c., home. they said he had surprising sharpness and they acknowledged he needed continued treatment. jackson is headed back to the mayo clinic for further in-patient care. philadelphia firefighters were left scratching their head after a tire crashed through a home. it seemed the whole in the roof was caused by a tire from an airplane. the officials learned that it came from a truck which collided by a car on the expressway.

appalachian fin and finally divers received some inspiration from the election coming up. they carved out faces of mitt romney and barack obama. i think snoopy would like to stay out of politics for a while. now for a look for the day ahead, we turn to meteorologist bill karins with the weather forecast. good morning. >> good morning. >> sandy. get used to that name sandy. >> yes. watching that. >> it's a tropical storm, far away from the united states at this moment. but a lot of questions of where the final outcome of sandy will be. we had a quiet month of october in the tropics, at least as far as land threats have gone. this will move across jamaica, cuba, most likely as a hurricane tomorrow and thursday. then it will be near the bahamas on friday. that's close enough to florida that it has our atone shun.

it's far enough down in the warm waters of the caribbean, well away from the chilly air of the united states right now. so the warm waters will allow it to develop into a hurricane, crossing jamaica, cuba, over the bahamas on friday. at this point the hurricane center thinks it will go north-northeast, all the rain and wind offshore. the question is what happens when it goes to bermuda? will it go out to sea or get sucked up towards the canadian maritimes or the northeast? it will be a delicate dance to see what happens with sandy come this time next week. otherwise out there just some areas of rain. one moving across new york state, from buffalo to syracuse. the other near missouri. that will be heading up towards chicago for the morning commute. i'll talk more about the rainy weather forecast coming up

later. bill and hillary to haiti, and iran's president on the outs? headlines are straight ahead. and the fda investigating deaths that may be associated with monster energy drink. you are watching "first look" on msnbc. [ male announcer ] do you have the legal protection you need? at legalzoom, we've created a better place to turn for your legal matters. maybe you want to incorporate a business you'd like to start. or protect your family with a will or living trust. legalzoom makes it easy with step-by-step help when completing your personalized document -- or you can even access an attorney to guide you along. with an "a" rating from the better business bureau legalzoom helps you get personalized and affordable

legal protection. in most states, a legal plan attorney is available with every personalized document to answer any questions. get started at legalzoom.com today. and now you're protected. insuring that stuff must be a pain. nah, he's probably got... [ dennis' voice ] allstate. they can bundle all your policies together. lot of paperwork. actually... [ dennis' voice ] an allstate agent can help do the switching and paperwork for you. well, it probably costs a lot. [ dennis' voice ] allstate can save you up to 30% more when you bundle. well, his dog's stupid. [ dennis' voice ] poodles are one of the world's smartest breeds. ♪ bundle and save with an allstate agent. are you in good hands? bundle and save with an allstate agent. why they have a raise your rate cd. tonight our guest, thomas sargent. nobel laureate in economics, and one of the most cited economists in the world. professor sargent, can you tell me what cd rates will be in two years? no.

if he can't, no one can. that's why ally has a raise your rate cd. ally bank. your money needs an ally.

some stories making news this morning. former president bill clinton and secretary of state hillary clinton led a star studded event in haiti to inaugurate a $300 million industrial park. during her speech secretary clinton revealed her and her husband's deep connection to that country. >> we came here for the first time together just after we were married and fell in love with haiti and have just celebrated our 37th wedding anniversary, which is exhausting to think about. iranian president mahmoud ahmadinejad is blasting his

country's judiciary for rejecting requests to visit his media adviser in prison. and an italian court has convicted seven scientists and experts of manslaughter for failing to warn residents of a 2009 earthquake that killed more than 300 people in central italy. the defense argued there's no reliable way of predicting quakes. they each face six years in prison. here's your "first look" at this morning's dish of scrambled politics. the debate is over. let the spin begin. >> mitt romney came across as reasonable, thoughtful, serious, presidential. >> i think that mitt romney came in the last debate a bully. the bully got beat. >> talking about changing policies it was president obama's administration that fought tooth and nail to delay the sanctions he's brag being today. >> mitt romney tried to find a new foreign policy which is the president's foreign policy.

>> i thought one of the governor's strongest moments when he turned to obama and said, mr. president, america has not dictated other nations. america has freed other nations from dictators. >> we think mitt romney has been reckless, i don't think he looked very strong tonight. we think he looked unsteadiment. >> president obama looked like a frustrated politician who feels -- who feels like he's losing momentum. that was the image we saw. >> the contrast tonight you saw between strong and steady president, and an uncertain romney who can't decide what his position is on iraq, what his position is on afghanistan. doesn't have a vision for where he wants to take the country. it was the phrase horses and bayonets that was the number one search on google during the debate and has been trending on twitter. it comes from this zinger by president obama on defense cuts. you mentioned the navy, for example. we have fewer ships than in 1

1916. governor, we are also have fewer horses and bayonets. >> senator john kerry tweeted this, wasn't joking when i said i needed an exorcism post-debate tonight after month placing mitt romney. as for the man playing president? >> i'm kind of glad this is our last debate. though i have enjoyed working with mitt romney. >> nick loelodeon asked kids wh would win, and they picked president obama by 60%. >> paul ryan went back to his school days in ohio to call the speaker something most republicans never would. >> hey, it's nice to see john boner here today, isn't it?

it's a true story. when i was putting up yard signs as a young guy in college, i had no idea how to pronounce his name. >> all right. you know how that song goes, this land is your land, this land is my land. next month arizona socievoters decide if the grand canyon should belong to all americans or just arizonans. >> last night, this picture was tweeted out. take a look. yen. that's what they did they swapped out hair-dos. thankfully just online. that's your morning dish of scrambled politics. now here's a look at how wall street will begin on this tuesday. the dow closed at 13,345 after adding two points yesterday. the s&p was up a fraction. the nasdaq gained 11. looking at overseas trading n tokyo the nikkei was up three

points. call it high-tech tuesday. up first, the markets react to yahoo!'s encouraging earnings after the bell. next, apple will be front and center before, during, and after its much behind ipad mini event. then after the bell, facebook's second earnings report as a public company. elsewhere, despite signs of life from the housing market, realty track's new election 2012 report finds 65% of local housing markets nationwide are worse off than four years ago. more sobering data comes to us from the pew center which finds 35 to 44-year-olds are the most worried about retirement. that is a stark contrast from just three years ago when generation x was the least concerned about retirement funds. a new study ranks the nation's capital as the most affordable u.s. city. the study factors housing and transportation costs against median income. baltimore, philadelphia, minneapolis, and boston rounded out the top five.

in health news, is there a link between monster energy drinks and the deaths of five people? well, that's what the food & drug administration wants to know. they're launching an investigation into claims against the highly caffeinated drink. the company is also being sued by the family of a 14-year-old girl who had a heart attack after drinking monster energy two 24 ounce drinks in 24 hours. a spokesperson for monster said they don't believe their products caused any deaths. coming up next, the champions of the national league are headed to the world series. plus a painful body slam sack on monday night football. your sports is straight ahead. you're watching "first look" on msnbc. where others fail, droid powers through.

introducing the new droid razr maxx hd by motorola. now more than ever droid does.

in sports, we'll start with baseball and game seven of the national league championship series. it was a very one-sided game as san francisco pounded out hit after hit against st. louis. run after run, as they shut out the cards 9-0. the end of the game was played in pouring rain. >> that should end it. and who else? scutaro. and the giants have won the pennant. >> that didn't dampen any celebrating there. game one of the 101 series starts tomorrow night. starting pitchers are barry zito for the giants, and justin

verlander for the tigers. lions, tigers and bears. brandon marshall with a 7-yard touchdown pass. in the second quarter, cutler got sacked in what looked more like a wwe body slam. that's going to leave a mark. he returned and the bears held on to beat the lions, 13-7. cyclist lance armstrong has officially been stripped of those seven tour de france titles. now a texas company that paid armstrong $1 million for winning those titles is threatening a lawsuit to get that money back. father of five amazing kids, seven-time tour de france winner, full time cancer fighter, part-time tri athlete was his twitter handle. today he changed it to raising my five kids, fighting cancer, swim, bike, run and golf whenever i can. and this was a european

basketball game. fans charged onto the court. they were throwing chairs, flares and other things at rival flares. police in riot gear had to rush in. they made arrests while the players retreated to the locker room. they waited for the scene to calm down there. by the way, the team whose fans started the chaos, still lost the game. lesson learned, i hope. for another look at the weather, let's go to bill karins. >> i bring road flairs with me to basketball games. >> why not? >> things a little different over there. bring the umbrella with you. rainy weather, interstate 90, new york state thruway, buffalo to rochester. we'll track that rain today through central new york, albany, later today hartford and possibly areas around new york city could deal with showers. elsewhere, thunderstorms around chicago this morning that we could get airport delays. >> thank you very much. christine that aguilera's

new robust offer. entertainment is straight ahead. [ male announcer ] when it comes to the financial obstacles military families face, we understand. at usaa, we know military life is different. we've been there. that's why every bit of financial advice we offer is geared specifically to current and former military members and their families. [ laughs ] dad! dad! [ applause ] ♪ [ male announcer ] life brings obstacles. usaa brings advice. call or visit us online. we're ready to help.

today donald trump -- did you hear about this? >> no. >> trump came back. he said he has a very big announcement about president obama that could cost him the election. yep. he's going to endorse him. we'll see. >> that trumpy. >> i like trumpy. >> #trumpy. it's time for entertainment news. ellen degeneres has received the nation's highest humor prize. last night she was presented

with the mark twain prize of american humor and excitement. she was praised as a pioneering female comic whose edgy variety show has helped define daytime television in recent years. there are reports jessica bi eshg biel ditched the traditional white wedding dress for her vows with just continue timberlake friday and went with a nontraditional pink and white gown from an italian designer. >> does that offend some people? >> yeah. >> we need to see the dress. >> we'll work on that for you. plus, tmz reports a plus size dating site has offered singer and coach of "the voice" christina aguilera $3 million to be their spokesperson. aguilera told "people" magazine she embraces her body and accepts herself, but whether she will take that offer remains to

be seen. plus size? come on. >> she can't do anything wrong. she has a new song out that's a hit. >> there you go. i'm lynn berry. this is "first look" on msnbc. stay tuned. "way too early" with willie geist starts right now. what we need do with respect to the middle east is strong, steady leadership. not wrong and reckless leadership that is all over the map. unfortunately that's the kind of opinions that you offered throughout this campaign. and it is not a recipe for american strength. >> i look around the world. i don't see our influence growing around the world. i see our influence receding. in part because of the failure of the president to deal with our economic challenges at home. in part because of our withdrawal from our commitment to our military and the way i think it ought to be. in part because of the -- the turmoil with israel.